"My dream is that at one point in time we will understand so much about how molecules work together, that we can make the simplest form of life in a laboratory."

The research of Bert Meijer focuses on the design, synthesis, characterization and possible applications of supramolecular systems with unprecedented properties and functions. It is founded on the principles of synthetic organic and polymer chemistry and aims at finding solutions to challenges in materials science and life sciences. Throughout his career Bert Meijer has explored and developed functional supramolecular polymers as a new class of materials. Via advanced molecular design and synthesis he has realized systems in which monomeric units self-assemble into long supramolecular polymeric chains, resulting in materials displaying unique dynamic properties that were thought to be exclusively reserved for macromolecules. Current research in the Meijer lab focuses on fundamental studies to understand complex multi-component supramolecular systems including the assembly behavior into supramolecular polymers. These insights are used to explore the potential use of supramolecular polymers as mimics of biological tissue, using a modular approach that allows for easy adjustment of their dynamics to external stimuli. Moreover, supramolecular materials are studied to create new avenues for adaptive soft materials and materials for nanotechnology and energy. 

Bert Meijer studied chemistry at the University of Groningen and obtained his master's degree in 1978. In 1982 he earned his PhD degree summa cum laude under supervision of Prof. Hans Wijnberg. In 1982 Meijer started working at the Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven and in 1989 he moved to DSM Research in Geleen. In 1991 he was installed as full professor of Organic Chemistry at the department for Chemical Engineering and Chemistry of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). In 1999 his chair was also established at the department for Biomedical Engineering. Since 2004 Bert Meijer is a distinguished university professor of Molecular Sciences at TU/e. He founded the TU/e Institute for Complex Molecular Systems in 2008 and is now a co-director. Meijer is adjunct professor of Macromolecular Chemistry at Radboud University Nijmegen since 1994 and distinguished visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara since 2008. In 2014 Bert Meijer was inducted as Academy Professor of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since 2018 he is also an external member of the scientific staff of the Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany.

• Institute for Complex Molecular Systems (co-director)
• Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
• Research Centre for Complex Molecular Systems

 Partners in (semi-)industry

• Suprapolix and Xeltis
• SyMO-Chem
• Industrial partners of the Industrial Consortium of the ICMS